Bittersweet
by Nostawen Allesiel
Summary: The word 'bittersweet' has a variety of different meanings. Kagome learns first-hand the less than pleasant truth of this. Response to the Dokuga LJ Oneshot Challenge


Kagome uttered another expletive, one she had stolen from Inu Yasha's own colorful vocabulary, as she stumbled over a tree root for the millionth time tonight. Catching her balance, she stopped walking to rub her stubbed toes, removing one tennis shoe as she did, keeping her free hand upon the tree who's appendage had damaged her own. Scowling darkly, the miko paused in her ministrations to flex the arch in her foot, replacing her footwear when she was sure that no permanent harm had been done.

Settling her weary back against the rough bark of the tree, she crossed her arms over her chest and wondered to herself again, "How in the world did I manage to get lost so quickly?"

One minute, she had told the shard hunting group that she would be heading out towards where she was certain a hot spring was located, having felt the terrain they had decided to camp in was one they had traveled before, to the next, hopelessly lost. It didn't help that tonight was when a certain hanyou wasn't a half demon any more, but a full blooded human. Which meant no knight in fire-rat armor to come barging through the forest, yelling obscenities while calling her a twit. Hell, she wouldn't even 'sit' him this time if it meant he could find her, she had been going in circles for that long.

She didn't even have her customary pack with her, just a bar of soap, a towel, and a travel sized shampoo and conditioner, which she had shoved in her jeans' pockets. Her shoulders were tired and sore from the strain of carrying the bulging yellow sack that never seemed to have a capacity limit, and the prospect of carting it all the way to the warm water hadn't been a pleasant one. So, Kagome had made the wise deduction of leaving it, along with a flashlight and every other necessity back with her team. After all, it was only dusk, and surely, she could find what she was looking for with ease since she had been here before!

Only.....she hadn't been here before. It was a grave error on her part, and the woman knew that without anything to use for weapons but toiletries and a soft yellow towel that chances of survival if a demon came by were slim to none. I mean what could she do? Ask some youkai to hold still and wait for her to unscrew the caps on some Pantene seconds before spraying them in the eyes with it? The best she could hope for was that it stung their ocular organs so badly they would run away screaming and crying for the nearest body of water, which she would then follow discreetly behind them so that she might get her bath after all. Because really, if she went to the trouble of losing her bathing supplies, she might as well take a dunk anyway.

If that wasn't beautiful enough of a situation she had landed herself into, to top it all off, she was starving! Her granola bar early in the afternoon had done little to sustain her for a night spent in the woods. She had been going to make dinner for everyone when she returned, having told them she would be back shortly and not to worry. No one else had gone with her because Sango hadn't felt well having recently gotten over a cold, and the males were not an option. Of course, she probably could have talked Shippo into joining her, but with it being autumn in Feudal Japan, she hadn't wanted to risk the little demon's health by walking back through the cold woods with wet hair.

Good intentions is what had her all alone out here with no viable way that she could see to get back to where she wanted to be. The night of the new moon made everything even darker when you were out in the open, let alone closed in with vegetation that towered far above your head. Well, she couldn't just stand here all night pouting! She had to move on and at least find some sheltered place for the night to sleep, perhaps even forage for some food to tide her over until morning when Inu Yasha would be back to his normal ivory haired self and came looking for his shard detector.

Sighing with exhaustion, Kagome levered herself up from her slouched position and ambled on through the inky darkness, her towel draped about her neck under the river of wavy black hair hanging loose from her head. Shivering, because it was quite cool, even for Fall weather, she put her hands deeply in her jeans pockets, hoping the heat produced from her own skin would bleed through the material and into her numb flesh. She could hardly feel her toes or her fingers anymore! Hunching further into her dark red fleece pull-over, the miko must have walked for what she judged to at least been an hour more before something to her side caught her attention.

Turning her head, she could barely make out the form of a large bush nestled near the base of a tree, a few stray vines from the plant crawling like tattoos up the trunk. Biting her lip, she eyed the small red berries sporadically interspersed amongst the round and glossy leaves with hunger. When her stomach chose that moment to growl louder than she had ever known, she set her chin stubbornly and stomped over to begin picking whatever small fruit her hands came in contact with. Greedily, she began popping them into her mouth, ignoring the bitter-sour taste as their juice burst in a flavorful rush over her tongue and down her throat. Now that she had begun to eat, it was as though her appetite had increased ten-fold, and she couldn't get enough of the berries that were edible, but left an odd aftertaste after they were consumed.

After a little while, the miko's hunger was satisfied to the point where the ravenous edge was gone, leaving a half-full, but not quite empty feel in its place. Pulling the towel from her neck, the moving cloth taking her hair along with it, she pushed the heavy tresses impatiently over her shoulder before folding the material it into a make-shift pouch. Tying off the last knot, Kagome began picking the last of what the shrub and vines had to offer, hoarding away her treasure in its fabric trove so that she would have something to nibble on later tonight and tomorrow morning. Now that she had found sustenance, she didn't feel like leaving it for some other hapless creature to come along and partake of. Selfish, but when dealing with a tired, lost human woman who hadn't even gotten her bath for the day, well....you just didn't expect generosity and sweetness.

When the sunny little bag was bulging at its terry sides, she knotted all four edges together, sealing the berries with a few stray leaves she had accidentally taken with the fruit inside securely. Cradling it in her arms, she once more took up her trek, this time keeping a sharp look out for any possible place to bed down for the night that wouldn't be too out in the open, but not completely hidden either. She didn't want to risk Inu Yasha not being able to find her because she had accidentally masked her scent with something else. That's the last thing she needed.

A happy exclamation left her rosy lips when she espied the perfect spot for an impromptu camp of the singular miko from the future kind. Though she was positive she had passed this copse of trees before with their one outcropping boulder that left a lovely shelf for a roof, she disregarded the information as unimportant. She had found it now, hadn't she? And really, that's all that mattered.

Ignoring how the ground was icy and damp, she knelt down and walked on her knees towards the shallow backing that was only deep enough to cover her completely if she were to lay on her side in a fetal position. Which was alright for her, since she liked sleeping like that anyway!

Placing her rations near her head, she didn't want to accidentally roll on them in the middle of the night, Kagome clasped her freezing hands together to put them under her cheek, blue-grey eyes half-mast in fatigue as they gazed without seeing to the dark shapes of the forest. Yawning loudly, forgoing covering it with her hand since there was no one to take offense at her bad manners, she felt her eyelids closing on their own, despite how she tried to talk herself into staying awake a little while longer on the off chance one of the group called out for her. Sleep, however, was a seductive pull her worn out body could no longer resist, and despite her efforts, the miko was fast asleep not five minutes after snuggling down in her grassy bed.

Sesshoumaru walked gracefully through the forest he was traveling through in order to get to his destination quickly. Since there had been no reason to believe he would be gone from his palace for an extended period of time, the Taiyoukai had deemed it prudent to leave his usual entourage at home. It also gave him a much needed break from said entourage so he didn't end up doing something completely out of his character like pull his immaculate hair out by its royal roots. Even his nerves were strained to the breaking point after spending day in and out with one hyper-active little human female and a loud squawking retainer who didn't know the meaning of the words shut-up. So, it was as much a mini-vacation for the dog demon to accept an invitation from a neighboring lord to discuss trade agreements as it was to solidify the West's rule. Negotiations had gone smoothly, as he had known they would. His peer had agreed to the proposal between his province and Sesshoumaru's right away, and the necessary documents had been signed and stamped with both of their royal insignias. He expected a certified copy of the deal to be delivered to his castle within the week since it was customary for these type of situations to warrant the hosting sovereign's good will be shown by sending a small parcel of goods along with the missive.

Side-stepping an upraised tree root gracefully, the youkai casually glanced about his surroundings with mellow amber orbs that saw easily in the shadows as though it was the daytime. The superior sight of demons was only amplified with the powerful blood flowing through his veins from his sire, and he was dutifully grateful for this fact when an odd sight caught his attention causing him to halt in his tracks.

Tilting his head to the side, the swath of his silvery hair swaying with the motion, he arched an aristocratic brow as he took in the sight before him. His half-brother's female was laying under a rock....in the cold Fall air....and she was obviously ill. The miko was groaning in her sleep, her breathing uneven and erratic as she unconsciously clutched at her abdomen as though it pained her, the color high on her cheekbones denoting to a fever.

Puzzled as to why the human would be out here on her own and so very sick, he surreptitiously sniffed at the air, trying to find any traces of her companions' scents in the breeze. Unfortunately, there was none, so he could but surmise the human had managed to get herself lost after wandering around for Kami knew what reason. Pacing a few steps towards her, he came to a stop by her head, staring down at her as he silently contemplated on what course of action he should take.

On one hand, he could just walk away, pretend he had never seen the miko and go along his merry way to arrive at his keep within the next few hours. On the other, he could almost see his ward's tearful eyes if she was to ever learn her 'Sesshoumaru-sama' had abandoned the ill female that the little girl was so attached to that any time his party passed his brother's Rin went bounding off to go greet the woman. As the war in his head raged on, the girl flopped onto her back with another pained groan, her eyes opening in slits to gaze at him sightlessly, the hands along her stomach twisting in her shirt's red material.

The movement had brought the little yellow homemade sack to his notice, and the Taiyoukai bent down on one knee to retrieve it from where it lay so innocently beside the miko's tossing cranium. Untying the knots with little difficulty, he scowled darkly when the flaps fell open to reveal the cargo it held, a narrowing of his glowing eyes as they cut to look sharply over her features. Clawed fingers reached into the soft recesses of the pouch and withdrew a small amount of vine with a few scant fat berries with one leaf residing on it. Bringing it close to his face, Sesshoumaru inhaled deeply, the odor he discerned from what he held causing him to scoff in disgust before tossing the object away. Taking the yellow cloth, he threw the contents of it into a bush at the far end of the copse of trees, not caring where it landed just as long as it was out of sight before stuffing the towel in his haori.

The woman's eyes had closed again during his inspection of her belonging, though her movements were jerky and her breathing uneven, all signs to what he now knew to be the results of poisoning. Annoyed, the Lord of the West sighed heavily as Rin's big brown eyes won out against his own disdain for humanity. Now that he knew the human was suffering from the ingestion of toxin, he couldn't leave her here to die in the woods. Which meant, he realized with an inner dread, that he would have to nurse her back himself since he knew the antidote for what she had consumed.

Japanese Bittersweet, or simply Bittersweet, as the plant was called was very prevalent all over the countryside, especially in this area. It was an extremely poisonous plant whose berries were not edible to any creature save birds, and since the flying animals were the only ones to eat them, there was an over-abundance of them because of the seeds being so wide-spread. Even his own lands had developed problems in dealing with the vines since they were known to literally suffocate the trees they attached themselves to if you did not remove them quick enough.

He wondered how, after traveling with his idiot brother for well over two years, the little ningen hadn't recognized the plant for what it was before eating from it. Maybe it had been the bad lighting, or perhaps she just had not known. Whatever the case, he was going to have to act quickly if he had any hopes of saving her life.

Carefully, Sesshoumaru slid his arm beneath her trembling shoulders, the tremors wracking her frail form cuing him into the fact that the toxin was spreading quickly through her system, wreaking havoc on her nerves as it attacked her muscles. Unwinding the silky length of his tail from his shoulder, he let it slither beneath her knees in a practiced move he had learned when moving a sleeping Rin to her room after she had fallen asleep in his own. The little girl had a tendency to come to his chambers late at night if she had experienced some night terror or other, and he was abashed to admit that he had always pretended to remain asleep as her tiny feet had padded over his polished floors seconds before his mattress shifted as she clambered onto the bed with no finesse. Usually, his adopted daughter would slide carefully under the heavy duvet and snuggle the edge of whatever pillow he was resting his head on. Not close enough to touch him, lest she accidentally woke him up and he sent her back to her own room, but near enough to snuggle her face into the soft linen, inhale his scent deeply as it relaxed her body. It only took Rin a few minutes to fall back into slumber, and when the youkai perceived that his charge was unconscious once more, he would always lay there and watch her for a while until finally gathering the will to get up and take her back to her own chambers. It was one of the reasons he never allowed his guards to patrol the private wing of the castle's ruler, in case they saw a little girl wandering off to the master's rooms as though she had every right, just to watch the stoic demon come out an hour later cradling a human child as though it was his most precious prize.

Placing her against his front with care to keep her away from the sharp points of his armor, he made sure his tail was secure before gathering his yoki to him, a filmy white cloud beginning to manifest at his shoe-clad feet. Taking to the sky, Sesshoumaru urged himself towards Taisho Palace with as much speed as he dared while carrying the ningen, the frigid temperatures of the clear night at this speed making her shiver harder. He frowned when she made a noise as though she would vomit on him, the dog demon glancing down sharply to make sure the miko had simply been making a sound and hadn't really decided to grace him with a miraculous display of her stomach contents.

A barely perceptible sigh of relief left his chiseled lips when she went back to her moaning and fidgeting. He knew that poisoning from the Bittersweet vine caused one to empty their digestive system, and that said victim of such illness could not help it when they did. That did not mean, however, that Sesshoumaru wanted to be painted in a human's bile. He'd never get the smell out of his nose or his clothing! Not to mention what that type of picture would present to his warriors.

In a fraction of the time it would have taken him had he continued walking, the Taiyoukai saw the tiered black roofs of the enormous Taisho holdings fast approaching, the pristine white surfaces of the walls a welcome sight to behold. Touching down lightly upon the sakura patterned stones of his courtyard, he waved off the number of soldiers who came to greet the return of their master, disregarding them from his sight as he walked with haste through the ornate cheery-wood doors of his home. Navigating the labyrinth of halls with ease, the dog demon continued on his trek until he came to the royal wing of the main building, barking out an order to Jaken as the little youkai came skidding around the corner up ahead to greet his lord.

"Jaken," his icy voice kept the toad from squawking out his regular line of reverence and platitudes, his large bulbous eyes nearly bugging out of his head at the sight of his master carrying Inu Yasha's wench. "Fetch a basin of water, towels, a container of tepid tea as well as the bottle marked CH from the medicinal stores."

Bowing profusely, dislodging his black hat as he did, Jaken rushed to do his master's bidding, his staff of heads nearly forgotten in his frantic need to get his orders accomplished. "Yes, Sesshoumar-sama! Right away, Sesshoumaru-sama! You can count on this Jaken to do your bidding!"

Assured that his retainer would come through on his demands, Sesshoumaru let his tail take the woman's full weight as he reached out and opened one of the double-doors, his family's crest of three inter-locking sakura blossoms etched deeply in the wood. Entering without a moment's pause, he went to his neatly made bed, dragging the white coverlet back before lowering the ill ningen to the sheets of a matching color. She immediately writhed as soon as he let her go completely, her eyes opening wider than they had before to stare straight at him. Blindly, she threw a hand out towards him, catching him off-guard by managing to latch onto his empty haori sleeve in a crushing grip that he was sure would leave wrinkles in the expensive cloth.

"Inu Yasha?!" She searched his face before frowning in puzzlement. "I don't feel so good, Inu Yasha......could we stop for the night?"

Something akin to dread began to spread in the vicinity of his stomach as the miko continued to ramble on in obvious delirium. Yet another stage of Bittersweet poisoning. The unlucky soul who had eaten the berries was also known to get a high fever, which in turn, led to vivid hallucinations that could last until the poison was completely purged from their bodies. When her brow wrinkled and a suspicious gleam was beginning to film her eyes, the Taiyoukai gently put his one hand over hers where it was twisted in the lax silk, dislodging the fragile digits with more care then he was aware of.

It irritated him on some level when the girl let go of his shirt just to immediately grab his striped wrist, the hold not really strong, a lack of force behind it. Frowning, he turned to glare at her, but the look on her face made him hesitate.

"You aren't mad are you, Inu Yasha? I promise, we won't rest long! I just need a night, and then I'll be fine and we can keep going, okay? Don't be mad at me...."

Taking pity on the distraught female, and wishing to make her let go of him since he could hear the rapid tatu of his servant's webbed feet running this way, he leaned close to her face till he was certain she could see nothing but his eyes and brow with the crescent moon at its center.

"Calm yourself, miko. You aren't going anywhere, so let go of me."

She looked even more confused at his words, as though the way he had spoken, the use of speech, wasn't one she was familiar with. Frowning, Kagome asked, "Why are you talking funny, Inu Yasha?"

Gritting his teeth as his patience fled at being called his foolish half-brother once more, he bit out between thin lips, "I'm not my idiot sibling, woman!"

The good thing, was this got her to release him, finally! However, what he hadn't expected her to do was reach up to trace his moon marking, a concentrated spark in the gaze that was following the line her fingers made. Beyond finished with this silly escapade, the Taiyoukai pulled away from her, all contact with the human falling away as she whispered out, "Sesshoumaru?" before promptly passing out into a fevered stupor once more.

Thankful that he had dodged getting caught being handled by a human in such a way, he straightened to his impressive height next to his bed, his tail automatically curling back about his shoulder without any thought from his owner. Jaken came bustling in, tiny arms heavily laden with his burdens, his staff dragging the floor behind him where it was being carried under one arm. Panting, the toad came to a stop by his master's side.

"This Jaken has gotten everything you asked for, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Looking down at his servant, the inu youkai divested him of the earthen beige bowl whose water was dangerously close to being spilled over a particularly expensive rug of silk descent, placing it on the dark surface of the night-stand. Taking the cloths and reddish bottle with the black inked calligraphy of CH on its side, he set those next to the basin, calling over his shoulder, "Light the brazier and candles, Jaken, and then put the tea on to boil."

Hurrying to do his master's bidding, the room was shortly illuminated in a soft glow from the many tallow candles in holders. The dog demon was glad the window coverings had been left closed during his absence since the cold weather would have turned the air inside frigid if the heavy curtains had not been in place. Moving down her body, he deftly removed the odd shoes from her fidgeting feet, setting them on the floor near the base of one post to his bed-frame. Taking in the sight of her odd clothing, he considered on whether or not he should remove what she was wearing, the grass stains he could see on the knees of her pants clenching the deal. He refused to have his sheets sullied with the outdoors!

Ignoring his retainer's incredulous stare from his spot by the warming piece of iron across the room, Sesshoumaru sat on the side of the bed to prop her upper half against his own, his hand sliding under the hem of the strange material to pull it over her head. His tail had to make another appearance quickly when she had begun to fall backwards on her own, his arm coming up automatically to wrap about her bare back, hold her to him. Pretending he didn't notice how soft her skin was against his own, he slowly placed her back on the bed, moving down to what she was covering her lower half with. Frowning as he studied the metal clasp holding the contraption closed, he finally took clawed fingers and simply sliced through the top of the band of her pants until they hung open on the front. Satisfied with the results, he stood up to pull the durable cloth from her legs, tossing them to join the shirt on the floor by her shoes. The sound of something hard hitting his floorboards made him pause to dig through her clothing, withdrawing two diminutive canisters the likes he had never seen before. Deciding she could keep those, but those deplorable clothes had to go, he put them inside her shoes before separating her attire from them by shoving them apart with one foot. He'd have them taken away later.

Collecting the blanket, he drew it over her shivering nearly nude form in its foreign black undergarments. He'd never seen garb the likes of which this woman wore. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out where she could have attained them from, having never come across such in all his travels throughout the neighboring provinces.

However, now was not the time to ponder his brother's woman's attire. Beginning the task of removing his armor so he might be able to move easier, he spoke to Jaken without looking in his direction. "You may go now, Jaken. Make sure Rin stays in her rooms until I deem otherwise. I am not to be disturbed."

"Yes, Seshoumaru-sama!" the little toad cried as he departed, closing the heavy door with a quiet 'click', shaking his head at how uncharacteristic his lord's behavior had become since they had taken the human child into their home.

Speaking of which, he was going to no doubt end up entertaining the child all night.....Kami help him...another evening of flower arrangements and dolls!

Lamenting his life, Jaken hurried to her chambers, refusing to let his master down, even if it was performing a duty he abhorred.

Inside his chambers, Sesshoumaru rotated stiff shoulders after having set the heavy protection of spikes and bone near his armoire, circling his head upon his neck to work out the kinks there. Running his hand through his mane, he returned to the ningen's side, who was at this point, muttering incoherently in between tossing and turning, her antics having already caused the coverlet to slide half-way off the bed. Muttering a curse of his own, the youkai put it back over her thrashing body, soaking a cloth in cool water before wringing out the excess to run it along her heated brow. She froze unnaturally at the sensation of something cold against her heated flesh, her eyes squinting open as though the low lighting hurt the orbs.

Swallowing thickly, she lifted a hand to take hold of the cloth, the youkai's own retreating out of range in case she got any more grabbing tendencies. He didn't feel like being snatched at so she could plead to take a rest for the night.

"Ugh, where am I? I feel horrible!"

Ah, so she was with it right now, he surmised as she blinked up at him. "I need you to drink something, miko. You've managed to poison yourself by foolishly eating those berries you found in the woods."

Brow wrinkling in puzzlement, Kagome searched her hazy memory, pushing away the roiling nausea that made her want to lean over the side of the bed and lose the contents in her tummy. This was worse than the stomach flu!

"Poisoned?" A brief flash of red berries in a yellow satchel made her freeze in dawning horror. "Oh Kami, it was those berries I ate, wasn't it? They were poisonous, weren't they?!"

Resisting the urge to give in and do something as common as rolling his eyes at her slow wits, he settled for a deadpan stare that somehow conveyed just what he thought of her cognitive processes. "Yes, miko, which is why you need to drink what I give you so your body can purge it from your system."

Raising her other hand to cradle the cloth to her head, she moved her legs restlessly as every joint throbbed and ached as though she'd run a hundred mile marathon in two minutes. It took her sluggish brain a while to realize she wasn't wearing anything but her underwear beneath the cover that was lying over her. Gasping, she gave the stoic youkai an incredulous stare as he was studiously opening a reddish bottle with black writing on its side.

"You removed my clothes?!" she couldn't keep the wail mixed in the nuances, the thought of the Taiyoukai who had turned at her words to watch her impassively making Kagome wish she could just curl up and die right there. And she hadn't even had her bath! And oh Kami, had she worn matching underwear?!

Confused as to why humans were always so uptight about their modesty, he held out the bottle, tapping the bottom of it against the hands she had promptly covered her flaming face with. "You need to take this," he stated for what felt like the hundredth time in the space of ten minutes. Was the woman just slow, or mentally unstable?

Separating her fingers a fraction to peak out at him, she gulped, the action making her stomach protest to the point where she almost did lose it. Breathing in deeply through her nose, she exhaled slowly through her mouth, forcefully calming the knots her digestive system seemed to be in. Once she was relatively sure she wouldn't throw up all over him, she kept the blanket under her armpits firmly as she gracelessly sat up, groaning as her back screamed a protest at being made to move. Letting fly a curse that even had the stoic youkai arching a speculative brow, she took the container he had left patiently hanging between them, sniffing at the contents to see if she could tell what it was by smell.

Her nose wrinkled, the odor familiar, but elusive as she shrugged and put the rim to her lips, tilting her head back to let whatever it was slide in her mouth.

Her eyes bugged and she began to hack as she pulled it away from lips, leaning forward to cough violently, tears streaming from her eyes in reaction.

Glaring at Sesshoumaru through the fuzzy mess that was her hair, she ground out, "What the hell, Sesshoumaru?! What is this?!" She waved the bottle at him.

"You need to take in more than that, miko," was his reply, deigning from answering her question. Really, humans were so squeamish, and he had a feeling that if she knew what she was drinking the little ningen wouldn't be swallowing more any time soon. Which it was imperative she do, so without hesitation, he sat on the edge of the bed to take the bottle with her hand wrapped about it and push it towards her mouth again.

Staring at him suspiciously, Kagome reached up to hold her nose closed before letting him lead the noxious fluid back to where it had been, the nasty flavor rolling over her tongue as she choked it down. When he was satisfied with the amount she had taken, he removed his fingers from the base of the bottle, letting her lower it to her lap as she shuddered and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Kami, that was nasty!"

Inclining his head in silent agreement, he could only imagine what it would taste like to drink charcoal with water, as he took it from her nerveless fingers to put it back on the table. Alighting from his post, he removed the damn cloth from where it had fallen on his sheets to soak into the material with an annoyed frown, depositing it back in the basin. Great, now he would have to have the servants wash everything all over again, and he'd just gotten everything back right before he'd left!

Snuggling back into the voluminous covers, Kagome kept running her tongue over her teeth as she was almost positive there was a gritty, sandy feel to them that hadn't been there before taking that medicine. She was surprised how her stomach was reacting to the concoction, her head, however, not improving as she might have hoped. She had a raging migraine, a high fever, and she could tell that her thoughts were slipping towards delirium again as they became increasingly disjointed.

Sesshoumaru left his patient to go fill an ornate teacup with sakura blossoms at the bottom of its insides with the now steaming tea Jaken had set over the metal top of the brazier. Procuring the beverage, he wandered back to the girl who had begun to slip towards her fever again, succumbing to the adverse affects of her own body attempting to purge the system by extreme internal heat. Using his tail again, he slid the blanket half down her torso, her exposed skin dotting with goose-bumps as the cool air washed over it. Raising her shivering body, he made sure to support her skull with the sip of the furry appendage as she was turning too weak to keep it up on her own. It took little coaxing to give the liquid to the parched ningen in small sips since he didn't want her drinking too much too fast, resulting in the vomiting he had so far escaped. He could but hope his luck continued to hold.

Of course, Sesshoumaru really should have known better since at that precise moment the human leaned towards him and promptly threw up all over his leg in black messy glory, his frantic backtracking doing nothing since in his panic he had forgotten his tail was about her, thus dragging her towards him letting her get in range.

Growling in disgust, his eyebrow twitched as he mentally repeated to himself that the girl couldn't help it, the tears streaming out of her closed eyes calming him as it reminded him of when Rin had gotten the stomach flu last winter. The child hadn't let anyone else but the Taiyoukai near her, fussing, crying and raising chaos unless he held her to him, demanding comfort from the stoic youkai who had never offered it to another being before. Unfamiliar with the mercurial health of children, he had been a prime target for the little girl to get sick all over him when one second she was whining about her tummy hurting and the next, emptying said tummy's contents all over his shirt front. Jaken, who had been standing to the side helplessly awaiting an order had nearly fallen over with an aneurysm, his beaky mouth hanging open in astonishment at the sight of a sobbing Rin hugging a soiled dog demon whose expression was between shock and horror. Sesshoumaru had pulled himself together when his charge's pitiful cries of apology had reached his stalled brain, surprising even himself when he had reassured her that it was fine while talking her into letting him go long enough to change and bath the stench from him. What had really gotten the youkai was that, it was true. It had been fine. Gross, but fine.

Now, with Kagome looking almost like Rin had that night, he could do naught but exhale heavily before running a hand through the hair on the crown of her head in a soothing gesture as he unwound his tail from her to put her back on in a supine position. Once free of her, he put the half drained cup on the crowded side-table and went to the adjoining bathroom to his suite, divesting himself of the smelly clothing, refusing to give real though to what it was staining his uniform. Tossing it in a far corner of the small room, he pulled on the dark blue sleeping yukata he always kept on a brass hook in there for when he was finished changing from his day to night clothes. Tying the sash deftly after so many years with only one arm, the Taiyoukai padded on bare feet, having kicked off his shoes since they were of no use now, tail now trailing behind him since the robe offered no way for him to keep it about his shoulder, and reentered his room. The smell of her retching still perfumed the air, and he couldn't prevent the way his sensitive nose wrinkled in rebellion, parting his lips slightly to just breathe through that until the odor was dissipated completely.

Kagome was laying on her side, the girl managing to retrieve the wet cloth beside her to run it over her face, complexion ghostly white save for the blazing red in her cheeks. Refusing to look at the youkai she had thrown up on, she muttered out in soft misery, "I'm sorry." Even in her half-crazed mind, she knew that what she had done was mortifying not only for her, but the dog demon who had been on the receiving end. It wasn't like she had done it on purpose!

He surprised her enough to let her eyes fly open to meet his when his icy voice said without its usual bite, "It's fine, miko. Forget it."

Searching his guarded features, she finally let it go to wallow in agony and sickness, praying to whatever god that was listening to just kill her now. Kami, she was so sick!

The last thing she wanted to hear was, "I'm afraid you need to drink this again, woman."

Shifting her head along the pillow till she had him in sight, she felt dread swim through her body. "No, not that again. Please, Sesshoumaru!" Her pleading eyes had no effect on him as he continued to simply hold out the dreaded bottle with its initials on it. Finding no pity in his amber eyes, Kagome gnashed her teeth together and violently wrenched it from his clawed hand, glaring straight at him as she gulped down a large amount of it. Sticking her tongue out afterwards dramatically, she missed the smirk that crossed his lips while he took the nearly empty container she held out to him, her black covered tongue amusing to the Taiyoukai. The human's lips were now a vague black color as well, looking as though she had been eating some random inkpot.

Flopping backwards to land in a heap, she didn't care anymore if he could see her black bra or anything else. She felt miserable, horrible and just drained in general. Her brain wouldn't work correctly, she couldn't even tell if this was some nightmare she was dreaming right now, and more than anything, she just wanted to pass out and forget all about those stupid berries that had caused this whole mess. What were they doing out there tempting people to eat them to stave off starvation anyway?

Putting her back to him, she rolled to face the other wall, grabbing up the blanket and dragging it over her suddenly chilled body that was causing her teeth to chatter. It felt as though she had gone from being melted in a fire to dipped in ice, no happy medium in between.

Keeping a careful eye on her in case it looked as though she wouldn't be able to hold down the last dose, Sesshoumaru returned the medicine to its now customary place beside every other implement he had been using. Rubbing his neck beneath the heavy weight of his hair, he cast a surreptitious look from beneath his lashes at the shivering human, the duvet shaking with her movements as the subtle sound of teeth hitting together hit his ears. Shoulders drooping a bit in defeat at the hand Fate had dealt him at deciding to wander aimlessly on his mini-vacation from his responsibilities, the Taiyoukai lifted the side of the blanket closest to him to slide into bed with her, ignoring her 'eep' of surprise as he did so. If she thought he was going to sleep on the floor like a dog so she could commandeer his bed, she was sadly mistaken.

Kagome stiffened when she felt his arm and tail lace over her cold body, dragging her easily back towards him, enveloping her in his embrace. Her stomach, thank Kami, had stopped somersaulting with the last dose of that medicine, so now she was dealing with flu like symptoms that didn't resemble a digestive bug. Thank goodness for small favors! One purging on a Taiyoukai per night more than filled her quota.

She would have began to yell at him to take his......arm and tail off her if the heat he radiated hadn't seduced her body into warming. When her teeth desisted from their chattering, she grudgingly allowed herself to relax into him since it appeared he wasn't going to do anything but hold her anyway, even if she was just in her underwear and her hair was a messy sprawl over the pillow they were sharing. It was an intimate embrace she had never entertained with a male before, having saved these kind of moments for a hanyou that she had begun to accept would never be experiencing them with her since he didn't think of her that way.

Too sick to care at this point, she felt her eyes grow droopy, her sore muscles relaxing under the soothing heat the dog youkai gave off that she so greedily absorbed. Wiggling back to burrow further into his abdomen, the demon's breathing halting for a second before resuming sedately with her action, Kagome hugged her edge of the pillow to her head, inhaling the fragrance it held. Sighing deeply, she let herself drift towards sleep, hoping to escape her malady, if but for a little while. Within moments, she was asleep.

Sesshoumaru knew exactly when she was asleep at last, his youkai hearing picking up the healthier sound of her breathing from what it had been the last time he had seen he truly asleep. Allowing his own body to begin unwinding from its tenseness, the dog demon knew he wouldn't sleep tonight, but resting like this would be good enough. He couldn't chance her waking up again in delirium, hallucinating her ningen way right out of his rooms to Kami knew where.

Leaning his chin atop her head, he made sure to keep his hand lax where it lay upon the skin of her diaphragm, going by feel to alert him in case her lungs decided not to work efficiently again so he could take the proper measures. The charcoal he had administered would attach itself to the poison in her innards and let the body expel it naturally. In fact, the cure which had been utilized for decades within his own castle acted fast enough that, though she might be very weak, she could go back to his brother and his group on the morrow. Something he was very grateful for since his patience with doing a good deed was just about spent.

Next time, Rin or no, he was leaving trouble exactly where he found it. No matter if it had beguiling eyes and soft skin.

Pushing such disturbing thoughts from his head, the Taiyoukai let his mind bleed into emptiness, a low hum of activity that let it remain working, but not reaching sleep mode. She muttered in her sleep before pushing back into him, shifting about in a distracting way before finding a spot that appealed to her addled human mind to settle into quiet once more.

Gritting his teeth, he really did have to wonder, should he have let the Bittersweet take her life, or helped her as he had?

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Kagome awoke feeling as though she had been hit by a truck and imbibed in too much alcohol, which was ridiculous since she rarely drank. Groaning, she slowly sat up, putting a palm to her forehead while keeping her eyes scrunched tightly closed in the hopes it would make the hammering at her temples stop. No such luck.

Hissing out an exploitative, she squinted her eyes open to be nearly blinded by sunlight, crying out before covering her face completely with both palms, refusing to lower them.

"You will need to drink plenty of fluids for the next couple of days, human." The cool tones of Inu Yasha's brother had her eyes snapping open as she spread her fingers far enough to peak up at the stoic form of Sesshoumaru who was standing a bit away from where she lay. Glancing around her in confusion, she recognized the over-hanging rock, patch of grass she had lain upon to sleep the night away until morning when the hanyou would come find her. What she wasn't acquainted with, however, was the soft brush of silk over her skin, her amazed gaze taking in the sight of her in one of the Taiyoukai's haoris, the huge shirt reaching past her knees, the sleeves voluminous. When she experimentally lowered her hands from her face to stretch them out in front of her, the cuffs immediately slipped over her fingertips to trail for quite a bit afterwards.

Gaining her feet unsteadily, holding onto the side of rock for support, she couldn't help a raised brow at seeing her tennis shoes on her feet, making her look even more ridiculous than she must already. Swallowing in an attempt to hydrate her dry mouth, Kagome focused on the dog demon who was still watching her in boredom, as though nothing was out of the ordinary to see a human in his clothes wearing shoes with no socks and hair a wild mass of tangles down her back.

"I'm sorry, what did you say, Sesshoumaru?"

"I said you need to drink plenty of fluids for the next couple of days, girl." Sweeping her with an impassive stare, he added, "And don't let my idiot brother make you travel for the same amount of time. I don't want my hard work to go unappreciated and come undone from his stupidity." So saying, he turned on silent feet to walk sedately towards the trail he had been taking before, his job finished in his mind since he knew his brother was at this moment speeding to her location. He'd prevented her death, watched her over the night, nursed her back to health, been thrown up on for his trouble, lost one of his favorite shirts, and also had to have all his bedding re-washed again. In his mind, he had earned sainthood, so waiting to hear the hanyou's asinine remarks was not on his to do list.

"Wait!" Kagome called, hobbling after him in faltering steps as her sore muscles and aching head tried to talk her into taking a seat right there in the middle of the little clearing. When he paused to turn his head in profile towards her, letting her know he was listening, she came to a stop about three feet from his back. "Thanks, Sesshoumaru. For everything." She bowed deeply to show respect, the tiny tilting of his head letting her know he accepted it as he went to continue on his way.

"I would suggest refraining from eating any more of those berries, Kagome. They're known as Japanese Bittersweet, and are highly poisonous. Next time, you may not be so lucky."

Before she could reply or at least demand why he hadn't been nice enough to take her back to her group, he was gone, the white of his uniform and hair blending in with more ease than she would have believed possible. Alone, she paced off a few steps muttering under her breath while rubbing her head again in slow circles until a sudden thought made her stop and yell back to where the Taiyoukai had disappeared.

"Hey! Where the hell are my clothes?! I want my shampoo and conditioner back, damn it!" They were the last she had! She barely dodged the sudden projectile thrown her way, eyes widening as she moved to the side to see a yellow object go sailing by to slam into a tree before falling harmlessly to the floor. Approaching it, she bent down to pick up her dirty towel, untying the much neater ties than her own had been last night to show her bathing implements. Smirking, she cradled them in her hands, turning back to yell, "Thank you!"

The crashing of someone flailing through underbrush teamed with her name being called let her know her companions were headed her way. Smiling secretly, she went to lean against the side of the rocks where she had taken refuge last night, vague flashes of being with Sesshoumaru floating through her head as she waited for them to find her. She didn't feel like aggravating her headache any more by raising her own voice to them since that little shouting spree with Sesshoumaru had made the hammers in her noggin pound worse. A random image floated in her head, her face turning horrified as she gasped.

"Oh Kami.......did I throw up on him last night?!"

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End file.
